Pieces of A Dream
by McDumbles
Summary: As Regina and the Charmings try to rescue Henry from Pan, Regina accidentally casts a spell that turns Henry back into a 3 year old. If there is a way to change him back, will Regina let them do it? This version of Henry loves her more then the present one, but the rest of his family doesn't want to lose him either. Set before the end of 3x8. A story about family
1. Chapter 1

_**This story takes place around the time of 3x8 but follows a different path. I started writing it last week so things that happened to some of the characters on the show in Episode 8 either haven't happened yet or won't (for this story anyways :P). I hope you like it!**_

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"I believed you! I thought you were good!" Henry said angrily, struggling against the other boy's grip.

"And that's what made it all the more fun. You should learn not to trust people so easily Henry, one day it's going to get you killed." He said with a wicked smirk.

Regina raised her hand in the direction of Pan, magic radiated from her fingertips and the look on her face was murderous.

"Regina don't!" Snow shouted.

" What are you doing?!" Emma grabbed her arm but Regina ignored her. "What if you hit Henry?"

"I'm warning you," Regina glowered at the insufferably smug boy in front of her. "Let Henry go or I promise this day will be your last."

"Threats? Really? Just you try to attack me. I dare you to. At the smallest move you make against me, your boy is dead." Peter pulled Henry in front of him, not to use him as a shield, but to prove that Henry's fate was in his hands.

"Regina stop," Emma said breathlessly, "there are other ways of saving him."

"And you know something?" Pan continued. "In the end I'm going to have to thank you! Henry is of more use to me dead anyways."

Regina couldn't take it. She pushed Emma away from her and in the split second that Pan was distracted she aimed at him with all of the power she could muster. In an instant, the boy's body turned rigid and he fell to the ground before disappearing in a crack of magic that reverberated straight back into Regina like an electric shock. Where Pan had been standing only moments before was now just a cloud of purple smoke. Henry too had been engulfed in the magic and was no longer visible. Snow grabbed Emma as she made to run into the smoke. The purple haze slowly began to disperse but there was no sign of Henry.

"What have you done?!" Emma yelled at Regina who had collapsed onto the grassy forest floor, a look of horror on her face.

"Henry!" Emma shouted, looking around for the boy.

"Emma try to stay calm, I'm sure he's safe." David tried to soothe his hysterical daughter.

"Don't just stand there, help me look!" Emma shouted.

Snow patted his arm affectionately, she could tell by the look on his face that he recognised Emma's diligence. It was the same as her mother's.

"Come on let's start looking. He can't be far." Snow said.

"Henry!" Snow and David joined in.

Regina shakily pushed herself up, brushing her hair away from her face. It had happened so fast, she wasn't even certain about what she had done. Or how for that matter. He had to be okay though right?

He couldn't be... No, he would be fine.

Regina saw Emma storming towards her and braced herself for a fight.

"I can't find him anywhere!" Emma said frantically. "What was that spell you cast? Where did he go?"

"I... I don't know!" Regina said, just as worried as the blonde. "It was an accident, Henry shouldn't have been affected."

"Well then what happened to him?" Emma fumed.

Regina shook her head, anxiously looking around for him. Snow and Charming and disappeared into the surrounding woods in search of the twelve year old.

"Regina!" The blonde seethed.

"Emma I _don't_ know! I'd like to know as much as you." Regina said testily.

"Emma I think we found him!" Snow's voice could be heard from further in the forest.

"Where is he? Is he okay?!" Emma shouted, racing towards Snow's voice with Regina rushing close behind.

"Mary Margaret?" Emma called again when she didn't receive a reply.

Regina and Emma saw David standing up ahead, looking quite shocked. They could just see the back of Mary Margaret, she seemed to be leaning over into a space between the bushes.

"What is it? What's happened to him?" Regina asked, a hint of dread in her voice. If she'd hurt her son again she would never be able to forgive herself.

"Is he alright?" Emma asked as the two made their way to Snow.

"Come on, it's going to be okay I promise. We're not going to hurt you." Snow said in a kind and gentle voice to someone in the bushes.

"What's going on?" Emma asked David.

"He's not... uhhh... I think he's been..." He ran a hand through his hair, not knowing what to do.

"What?" Emma urged.

"That's it honey, come on." Snow said. And just then they saw her lead a little boy, no older than four, out of the shrubbery where he had been hiding.

"Henry!" Regina breathed, astonished. It was him, of that she was certain, but he had been turned back into a toddler. He'd been turned back into her baby.

"Henry?" Emma asked bewilderment.

The tiny child looked around fearfully at the adults towering over him.

Regina crouched down, hoping he still knew who she was.

Henry was now looking up at Snow who was still holding his hand. His eyes landed on Regina and he reached his other hand out towards her but Emma rushed forward and picked him up instead. "Don't worry Henry it's gonna be okay, we'll find a way to fix this."

Unfortunately little Henry didn't recognise her and he began to cry and scream.

"Emma stop, put him down." Regina rushed forward, her voice had a frightened edge to it.

"No! Stay away from him. You did this, this is all your fault!" Emma said on the verge of tears. Hugging the squirming toddler.

Regina swallowed nervously, trying not to cry herself. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to I swear. Please give him to me."

Emma shook her head angrily. "You're not getting anywhere near him. I told you not to do it!" She said as a tear escaped from her blue eyes.

Regina held her hands up in front of her, showing that she meant no harm.

Emma felt a hand on her shoulder. "Emma she won't hurt him." Snow said softly. "Look how scared he is, Regina is the only one of us he knows right now. Just let her hold him."

Emma looked down at the crying, confused little boy in her arms. How could her own son not remember her?

"Mommy..." The little boy said in a small voice. He was looking up at Regina with pleading eyes, "What's happening?"

"I'm not sure sweetheart," Regina said in a shaky voice. "but we'll figure it out I promise." She reached out to touch his arm, hesitating for a moment to see if Emma would protest.

"Here, take him." Emma said a little gruffly.

Regina smiled gratefully at her before lifting Henry out of Emma's arms, gathering him in her own. She felt his small arms wrap around her shoulders as she held him close to her, one hand resting on the back of his head.

"Mommy how'd we get here? I don't 'member."

Regina looked up at the others, a little lost for words. "All that matters is that you're safe now. We're going to get you home." She said tenderly.

The little boy looked over at the other adults, Emma was being comforted by her parents but she was staring at Henry tearily.

"Who's...?" Henry asked, pointing a tiny finger at Emma.

Regina looked up the other woman, "Darling that's Emma. And you don't have to be afraid of her, she's a friend." The brunette smiled a little apologetically at Emma. "And this is Mary Margaret, and this is David." Regina gestured to them in turn, keeping her voice in gentle tones.

Snow smiled kindly. "It's nice to meet you Henry."

Henry grinned and shyly turned further into his mother's embrace, hiding his face from the others.

Emma gazed longingly at the toddler. She had never seen him at this age. Watching Regina and Henry interact she realised how much of his life she had missed. Regina was like a whole different person around this Henry. They looked like any other mother and son. Just like the ones she had watched enviously as she was growing up alone.

There was a shadow of guilt in Regina's eyes, but also one of delight.

She had often dreamed of a moment such as this, but she'd known it would never happen. Yet here he was, three years old and completely real. How many other mothers got a chance like this?

"Do you know how to change him back?" David asked.

Regina was gazing down at Henry. Her face fell at David's question.

_Of course she knew how. But the question was, did she want to?_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you to all of those who subscribed! And also thank you to the reviewers, reviews are one of my most favourite things! :)**_

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Regina was gazing down at Henry. Her face fell at David's question.

_Of course she knew how. But the question was, did she want to?_

Henry looked up at Regina with big blue eyes. His eye colour had changed since this age, but she had never forgotten how fond she was of the way they sparkled. He grinned when he noticed her staring at him, causing her to give a soft smile of her own.

"I'm tired." Henry said. "I wanna go home."

"So do I..." Regina whispered. She blinked back a few tears. "We'll go soon I promise."

After placing a gentle kiss on the top of Henry's head, her eyes met the hopeful expressions of the other three adults. She nodded faintly at them, fearing that she would cry if she attempted to speak. She wished she could lie to them; she didn't have to change him back. This version of Henry probably loved her more than the present one. That was the sad and unfortunate truth. If he stayed this age she wouldn't have to share him with anyone else. But she had no choice. If she left him as a toddler she would be wracked with guilt every time she looked at him. She couldn't take from him almost a decade of his life.

She couldn't be that selfish.

"Henry I need to put you down for a minute okay?"

"Noo.." He protested,

"It's only for a moment sweetheart, and then we can go home. Nothing bad is going to happen to you."

"I wanna stay with you." He held on to her tighter.

"I'll be right here the whole time," Regina gasped. He was making her decision so much harder.

"We should help her." David murmured to his wife and daughter.

"I'll do it." Snow stepped forward.

She smiled encouragingly at her step-mother who, despite her best efforts, had tears beginning to stream down her face. Snow tentatively reached for Henry, waiting for Regina's consent. Regina was hugging the toddler protectively, her cheek pressed against the top of his head.

"Maybe we should wait." Regina whispered.

"No," Snow said sympathetically, "it'll be easier to get it over with now."

"I don't think I'm going to be able to."

"Of course you can, he'll be fine." Snow said softly. "He'll be back to normal and everything will be alright."

Regina looked at her step-daughter desperately. She finally nodded, giving the signal for Snow to take him.

Henry fussed against the stranger, trying to hold on to his mother. When Snow managed to gently pry him from Regina, the latter wiped her eyes and took in a deep breath in order to gain her strength.

Snow placed Henry on the ground, and he immediately started running back to Regina. Snow delicately grabbed him, she took his hand. "No honey, stay here."

"But mommy's crying." He said to Snow, looking up with big, worried eyes at the grandmother he couldn't remember.

Mary Margaret crouched beside the child and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Don't worry about me Henry." Regina managed to say. She took another deep breath and waved her hand steadily through the air.

But nothing happened.

"Regina?" Emma said nervously. "Was that supposed to do something or are you just uhh.. warming up?"

"It didn't work." Regina said, a little disheartened.

"Did you use the right spell?" David asked.

"Of course I did." She gritted her teeth.

"Maybe try again?" Snow offered in that forever optimistic tone of hers.

Regina narrowed her eyes at the statement so obvious, but indeed made another attempt. Again, nothing happened.

"What's she doing?" Henry whispered to Snow. His teary eyes still full of confusion and fear at not knowing what was going on or why he couldn't remember anything about where they were, or who all of these people were.

"I don't think I can do it." Regina said quietly. "For some reason the spell isn't working."

"You're not even trying are you?" Emma accused. "You probably want him to stay this age so you can have him all to yourself!"

"Emma!" Snow scolded, "she's trying to help."

"How do you know? She could just be pretending."

"Trust me dear if I didn't want this to work I wouldn't have tried in the first place." Regina snapped.

Henry was looking at everyone as they spoke, trying to understand what they were talking about. Snow didn't hold Henry back this time as he walked towards Regina, raising his arms so she would pick him up.

"Don't worry Emma," David said, placing an arm around her. "We'll find a way."

Emma was seething but the hurt was obvious in her eyes. She missed Henry. They had spent so long trying to get him back and when they finally succeeded something like this had to happen.

"Mommy why are you so sad?" Henry asked.

"I'm not upset Henry..." She said, hugging him closer. "Not anymore."

"But why were you?"

Regina looked sideways at the Charmings as if seeking their help.

"I was upset because I thought you were afraid." She finally settled on.

"Oh..." Henry's brow furrowed, but he still didn't really understand.

"Why were they talking about my age?" He pointed to the other three who were watching silently. "What do they mean you wan'me to stay my age? Is it 'cause you don't wa'mme to be growed up? And Why is Em mad at you?"

Regina breathed out a laugh. "Grown up, honey. And I do want you to grow up, I know you're going to be a wonderful big kid." She said, tapping his nose.

"Yeah?"

"Mhmm." She smiled.

Henry beamed at her, quite proud of his future self. His smile faltered. "But why is Em...?" He pointed at Emma.

Regina frowned, she looked over at the woman to which he referred, and she noticed the tears Emma was holding back. Her mouth opened to respond but she closed it again, not really knowing how or how not to explain all this to her three year old.

Snow came to her rescue. "Emma's not mad at your mother Henry, she's just a little upset because she misses her son."

Henry's eyes widened in sadness for the blonde woman. "Where'd he go?"

Emma bit her lip, and blinked back more tears.

"You don't have to worry about him, we know he's safe." Snow said sympathetically.

"How'd you know?"

Regina took in a small breath, an amused smile played across her lips. She remembered his seemingly never-ending questions all too well.

Snow smiled patiently, "because we've seen him."

"Where?"

"In this forest."

"Why's he here?"

"Henry..." Regina said. "Leave Mary Margaret alone now." She said, rubbing his back.

"Sorry Mary." Henry looked down, embarrassed.

"It's okay, there is nothing wrong with being curious." Snow beamed.

Henry noticed this and grinned too, hiding his face against Regina's shoulder.

"I think he likes you," David placed a kiss to Snow's temple.

"Well he'd better he's my grandson. And not to mention my favourite student." She said happily.

Emma had her arms folded across her chest trying to fight back the urge to grab Henry and run. She knew for Henry's sake she would never do it, but she had to admit it was tempting. She shot a glance at Regina but had to look away.

The brunette in question was whispering something in Henry's ear. He flashed an adorable grin at her and she actually blushed, apparently not used to it anymore.

"Hey, Emma are you alright?" Came Snow's voice from beside Emma.

The blonde looked at her sadly. "This is so not fair." She muttered.

"No, it's not." David said under his breath. "But at least Henry is with us now. We can look after him until we find a cure. This is way better than him having to spend more time with Pan."

"You're father's right Emma. If Regina hadn't have stopped Pan who knows where we would be right now. Pan was going to kill him." Snow reminded her.

"I know... but she could have listened to me. I told her magic was a bad idea. I mean how do we know if Pan is even dead?"

"What do you mean? Of course he is."

"You don't know that for sure. Henry disappeared too. Who's to say that Pan didn't just poof somewhere else too? Oh my god!" She grabbed Snow's arm in sudden alarm. "You don't think that Pan is a toddler too?!"

Snow's mouth dropped open. She looked at David for an answer, but he shook his head.

"Emma's right!" Snow said. "What if there is another little boy out there? He could be so scared! We have to go look!"

Regina, who had wandered away a bit as she was talking to Henry, made her way back to them at the sudden commotion. "What's going on?"

"Emma just made a good point," David said. "What if Pan was turned into a toddler as well?"

"What." Regina stated more than asked, clearly not happy about the idea.

"Yeah, we don't know what your spell really did. What if Pan is a four year old now too?" She gestured to Henry.

"Well if the spell worked as it was supposed to..." Regina started but Emma cut her off.

"That's just the point, it _didn't_ work out the way it was supposed to."

Regina was about to argue back but someone else beat her to it.

"I'm not four." Henry was almost glaring at Emma.

She looked down a little surprised. "Oh... Sorry... umm. How old are you?"

"Three-and-one-quarter."

"Oh, well that's a... a great age."

"I like it too." Henry smiled up at her.

Emma gave a small smile of her own at the attention from him.

"Wanna know what I got for my birthday?"

"Sure?"

"A bike!"

"Wow!" Snow exclaimed in forced, but well forced, surprise.

David put his hands on his hips in fake doubt. "You're old enough to ride a bike?"

"Yeaaah!" Henry said as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

Emma just stared at him, trying not to laugh.

"Well..." Henry said. "It's not reaaally a bike. 'Cause it's got four wheels. Two are super small and they attats' to the back. I want them to go away. But... But Mommy says they need to stay." He looked back up at Regina for confirmation.

"Yes they do. And do you remember why I said the training wheels need to stay?"

"Cause I haven't learned a two wheeler yet." He said matter of factly.

"That's right, it's too dangerous. But no need to worry dear, I know you'll learn very soon."

Henry gasped excitedly.

Regina had tears of joy glistening in her eyes. She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Sorry but, shouldn't we talk about Pan?" David reminded everyone.

"Right." Emma said. "Mary Margaret wants to go look for him. In case he's... three now."

"No. No way." Regina said. "I don't care how old he is. After what he tried to do I have no sympathy for that smug little..." Regina stopped herself due to present company. "Well, you know."

"But if he's just a little boy what harm can he do?" Snow said, a little crestfallen.

"He was 'just a little boy' before too and think about all the chaos he caused. If he is out there I am NOT helping him."

"But Regina, Mary Margaret is right." David said. "What if he doesn't remember how evil he is? What if he's just scared and confused?"

Regina sighed heavily. "He could be dead, this could all just be a waste of time. We should be focusing on getting Henry away from this place."

"I agree but If Pan isn't dead we shouldn't just leave him." Emma said.

"If he's still the same arrogant little brat he's always been then you _will_ regret doing this."

"I think we should find out for sure before we rush to conclusions. I'm just going on what I've seen already." Emma nodded towards Henry.

"You really want to help him? Of all people?" Regina asked unbelievably.

"Yes. If he really is the same age as Henry then it's the right thing to do."

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_**Don't forget to review! :D**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Don't forget to review after reading! :) **_

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"How do we even know where to start?" Regina asked impatiently. "This island is huge, he could be anywhere. If there is any of him left to find that is."

"Well, Henry wasn't far," Snow said. "David and I found him in a matter of minutes. I'm sure if Pan's still alive he'll be around here somewhere."

Regina turned away from the others in frustration. "This is a such waste of time."

"Who's Pan?" Henry piped up from where he was sitting on a boulder. Regina glanced down at him but Emma took her attention.

"Regina you can't expect us to just leave him on his own."

"You don't even know for certain that there's anyone to look for!" Regina fumed. " And let's just say that there is, what if he's not three? What if he's the same rotten preteen we've been fighting with the entire time we've been here? We could be running straight into an ambush!"

"We have to be sure before we just drop the idea." David reasoned.

"He's dead! I saw it, I felt it. That spell worked!"

"What's a spell?" Henry said from below. "Like spelling words? I can spell my name!"

"Well then what happened to my son?" Emma challenged. "And why can't you change him back?"

"H... uuumm... E..." Henry started.

"I don't know why it's not working... but I do know that Pan is _gone_."

Henry pressed his palms to his face."I don't ermember..."

"Regina think about it." Snow said, "what if it was Henry all alone out there, lost in some big scary forest that he didn't know. If there was someone who was able to help him surely you would want them to?"

Regina folded her arms and looked down at Henry who, realising he was being talked about, stared up at them all curiously.

"See?" Snow concluded. "You would want someone to find him. Right now Pan could just be someone's lost little boy."

Disconcerted, Regina was shaking her head.

Emma took this as an acceptance of the plan. "So where should we start?" She looked to her parents.

"Why don't we just scope the area for a while?" David suggested." It hasn't been that, long maybe he's still around here somewhere."

Emma raised her eyebrows to Snow, silently asking if she agreed.

"I think that's a great idea." The brunette said. "Should we split up?"

"Maybe we could go in teams?" David suggested. "Mary Margaret, you and me in one direction and Emma and Regina in another."

"Do you two think you're going to get along?" Snow asked both of the women.

They just looked at each other, daring the other to say no.

"Well that's settled then. Why don't we meet back at the camp in an hour." Snow said. "David, shall we?"

"What about me?" Henry asked Snow.

Snow gave an amused smile, "honey you'll go with Emma and Regina."

"Kay."

Snow took David's hand and the two disappeared into the trees.

"So..." Emma said, hands on her hips. "You ready to go?"

"Why don't we just let the Lost Boys find him? If he indeed, needs to be found. I'm sure they'll look after their so called leader."

"Regina you can't be serious, they're _teenagers_! There is no way they're gonna look after Pan if he's practically a baby."

"What are we supposed to do with him if we find him? He's centuries old. I seriously doubt we're going to find his parents."

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it."

"So what, you're going to adopt him? Cause I sure as hell am _not._"

"Mommy said a bad word!" Henry giggled.

Regina sighed. "That was your fault," she pointed a finger at Emma who smirked as if to say _'yeah right it was_.'

"I'm sorry Henry." Regina crouched beside him. "I don't ever want to hear you repeating that okay?" She said firmly, but not unkindly.

"I knooow."

"That's my boy," she smiled.

"Alright let's get going." Emma said. "We can't leave Mary Margaret and David to do all the work."

"Come on sweetheart," Regina said, offering the three year old her hand. He took it hopped off the boulder.

* * *

Venturing through the uneven terrain of the forest proved difficult with Henry tagging along. He slowed them down tremendously, mostly for reasons none of them control. His legs were too small to keep up for one thing, so they had to either walk at snail pace or carry him. Carrying him was problematic as well because they needed their hands to get through areas that were substantially bushy.

Henry giggled happily as Emma lifted him over a fallen tree.

"We can't use another locator spell." Emma was saying to Regina who was taking Henry's hand. "First, we don't have anything of Pan's. Second, I don't know if his younger self counts as the same person. Third, we don't have anything of Pan's!"

"There are other ways of tracking someone by magic." Regina said. The two had decided that it was okay to talk about this stuff in front of Henry. At this point he thought it was just a game, and he wouldn't be three for long; they were going to find a way to change him back. And besides, the future... present... older Henry knew about magic already and he handled it well. Chances were that when he changed back he wouldn't remember anything of this 'flashback' anyways.

"Is Pan your son?" Henry looked back at Emma who was stepping over the tree.

"Nope, Pan's a different kid."

"Oh...What's your son's name?" Henry asked.

Emma and Regina shared a look. "Umm... his name is Henry too."

Regina rolled her eyes.

"REALLY?! I never known anyone with my name before! Well, except for Grandpa, but I never got to meet him."

Emma didn't notice the falter in Regina's next step. The blonde merely grinned as they resumed their journey.

"Mommy mommy! Em's sons gots the same name as me!"

"I heard!" Regina said with a little extra enthusiasm.

"How old is he?"

"He's eleven, almost twelve. Eleven-and-three-quarters I guess." Emma said, remembering how Henry saw things.

"Is he in high school?"

"No, not yet."

"I wanna meet him!"

"Yeah well, if we ever find him maybe you can."

"Why's he missing?"

"He's not really missing, it's complicated."

"Is he playing hide-and-seek?"

"No..."

"Then why can't you find him?"

Emma looked to Regina who had no suggestions to offer. "He just forgot to tell me where he would be that's all."

"Oh."

Henry got sidetracked by examining the ground as he walked ahead of the other two, pulling against Regina's grasp.

"Great save." Regina whispered sarcastically to the blonde.

Emma shrugged. "Hey, it's the truth isn't it?"

Henry suddenly stopped. "Mommyyyy..."

"Yes Henry?"

"I have to go potty."

Regina sighed. "Alright, let's find a place you can go."

"In the woods!?" Henry asked incredulously.

"Yes Henry, in the woods."

"Nooo! I need a bafroom."

"Henry there are no bathrooms out here."

"But mooommy I need one!"

Regina glanced at Emma. "Wait..." she said under her breath.

Emma shook her head warningly.

Regina nodded.

"No!" Emma mouthed.

"What harm can it do?" Regina whispered back.

"Talking about magic and actually showing him are two totally different things."

"I'm not about to make him pee in a hole."

"Why not? We've been doing it for days!"

"Well unfortunately, his aim's not so great."

"Regina don't!"

"Too late." Regina grinned mischievously.

Emma turned around and exhaled in irritation as she saw the little blue potty.

"Wow!" Henry exclaimed, "where'd that come from?"

Regina leaned down and grabbed the potty in order to take it to a more secluded area. "Let's go Henry."

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" Emma quipped as Regina walked by her with the three-year-old.

Not phased, the brunette just smiled at Emma's expense. "Don't worry dear, I'll get rid of it afterwards. I wouldn't dream of littering."

* * *

"So it's weird with Henry being so young huh?" Snow said to David, both looking into the surrounding trees as they paced through the woods.

"It sure is. But he seems great, I never got to see him at any age earlier than ten. Do you remember him when he was three?" David paused. "The first time I mean."

"Oh yeah." Snow said. "I used to pass Regina and him walking sometimes. "It's remarkable how I never realised he was getting older while everything else stayed exactly the same."

"Well that's the curse for you."

"Yeah... He's adorable though isn't he?"

"He is." David smiled.

They searched in silence for a few minutes until David noticed Snow's expression. He stopped her by placing a hand on her arm.

"Mary Margaret, what is it?"

She looked up at him sadly. "It's just, seeing Henry like that... at this age... he's so sweet and little and..." she trailed off.

"You're thinking about Emma."

"David we missed everything."

"I know. There is nothing I regret more than sending her away. But we did the right thing. She never would have had the chance to grow up if we hadn't sent her through the wardrobe, and you and I would never have gotten to see each other again."

Snow glumly turned to keep walking, hearing this again wasn't making her feel any better.

David rushed to step in front of her."Mary Margaret, we will get a second chance I know we will. We _will_ have another baby."

"But what if we can't get you off the island?"

"What do you mean? Gold said he can make something back in his shop that will allow me to live outside of Neverland."

"I know he did. But where has he been since then?"

"I'm sure he has something up his sleeve. He wouldn't just abandon the rest of us, not now. Mary Margaret... Snow. We will make it home. All of us."

* * *

"Moommyyyy?"

"Yes Henry?"

"I'm tired."

"Do want me to carry you?"

"Yes please."

"Alright, come here."

She lifted him into her arms and he rested his head against her shoulder.

"I guess we should start heading back to camp soon." Emma said as they resumed their walk. "It's almost been an hour."

"Good, I'm getting quite tired of this hike myself. I knew we weren't going to find anything."

"There's still time. And maybe Mary Margaret and David had more luck."

"I doubt it. And I wouldn't call finding Pan 'lucky' either. As far as I'm concerned I never want to see that delinquent ever again."

"De-link-oo-ent." Henry repeated sleepily, eyes barely open. This caused both women to smile.

"Okay," Emma said lightly, "If you're so sure Pan is dead, tell me why and maybe I'll take your side."

"Well..." Regina said, shifting Henry a little in her arms. He opened his eyes briefly until they fluttered closed again. "After the spell hit him he was paralyzed immediately, and I'm sure he was dead by the time he hit the ground... which is what was supposed to happen. As for whatever the aftermath was that came back at me, I have no idea. But I do know that it felt like power. Power that had just been defeated. I think it was Pan's magic, it felt like a last attempt to defend its' master if that makes any sense."

"So you're saying his magic has a mind of its own? That's not comforting."

"Well no, if he's dead now so is his power. It's just like having a last thought before one's death. He had a last spell. His magic works differently than ours since its indigenous to Neverland. Ours is learned through study but his is purely thought based."

"Hold on I thought all spells were thought based? That's what you and Gold are always saying. It's emotion and all that."

"It is. But it's different than the magic here. This is making my head hurt, please don't make me attempt to explain further."

"Why did he disappear then? How can you be sure he didn't just 'poof' to some other part of the island like Henry did?"

"I can't, but I do know what I felt and what I saw. And what I saw was him dying."

"What about the purple smoke? It was separate from the one that took Henry."

"And did you notice the difference between the two? Pan's didn't disappear as soon as he was gone as Henry's did when he was taken. It just dispersed slowly into the air."

Emma's brow furrowed as she remembered this. "Okay sure, the smoke was different, but that still doesn't prove that Pan's really gone."

Regina didn't respond, she appeared to be too deep in thought.

"You said there are other ways of tracking him." Emma stated. "Do you think you could try any of them? That way we'll know if this really is a waste of time or not."

"Many of the methods require objects or potion ingredients that I don't have. Scrying is one way we could do it, although we'd have to get very creative regarding the materials needed... However... there is one way we could check that requires nothing at all..."

"What is it?" Emma asked.

"His shadow. If it still exists, that means he still exists. We need to check that little nightlight of Neal's and see if it still has that monster encaged."

"Seriously? It's that easy? Why didn't you just say so earlier!"

"Well if you hadn't noticed, I was a little pre-occupied with trying to keep our son calm to think up ways of determining whether a demonic child I have absolutely no sympathy for is alive or dead."

"Hold on... I'm seeing a flaw in this."

"And what's that?"

"Neal told me that a person dies when their shadow is pulled from their body. So if Pan is dead... couldn't his shadow still survive and live on its own like the others do?"

Emma held back some branches so Regina could pass through first.

"No. Because the difference is that Pan was controlling his own shadow. The shadows that were created by the killing of the people to which they belonged to have no minds of their own. Pan's shadow controlled them."

"Okay... so umm... if Pan is dead and his shadow is dead then wouldn't the other shadows be dead too if they had no one to command them?"

"Possibly, yes."

Emma stopped dead in her tracks. "But the shadows were our way home."

"I know they were..."


	4. Chapter 4

When Emma and Regina arrived at the camp they discovered that Snow and David had already returned and were accompanied by Hook and Neal. When Neal laid his eyes on Henry in Regina's arms, his hand flew to his mouth. Snow and David had informed him and Hook of what had happened, but seeing it with his own eyes was certainly something else.

"Hey guys..." Emma said.

"That's him?" Neal asked a little faintly, still not able to believe it.

"Yeah. This is Henry. I know it seems hard to believe but trust me it's him."

Henry was still asleep and most of his face was hidden against Regina's jacket.

Neal stared at the boy. "He's so small." He smiled.

Regina was eyeing the man closely. She hadn't yet grown used to the idea of having to share her son with him as well as Emma. And now that she had _this_ Henry, she felt even more reluctant. This Henry was hers. She hadn't had to share him the first time around and she shouldn't have to now. Letting Emma get to know him seemed like quite enough already.

"Well I'm glad to see the lad's alright," Hook said. "In a matter of speaking anyways. But shouldn't we get a move on?"

"A move on where?" Snow asked.

"Why back to my ship of course. Or did you forget that we still need to get off this blasted island?"

"But we can't leave yet," Emma said. "First we need to find out what happened to Pan. Neal, we're going to need to look at your coconut star-map thing to see if Pan's shadow is still in there... and we still don't know where Gold is. We aren't leaving without him."

"Have you forgotten love? He's the one who left _us _in the first place. Why should we bother waiting for him?"

"Because without him David can't go home!" Snow said, holding onto her husband's arm.

"Mary Margaret..." David began.

"I agree," Regina spoke over him. "We should wait for Gold before we try to leave. He helped us find Henry, we owe it to him."

"That settles it," Emma said. "We're staying 'til we find Gold. And who knows, maybe he'll be able to help us figure out what happened to Pan."

"As the lady wishes." Hook gave a small bow which caused the blonde to roll her eyes, but give a small smile all the same.

"Even so," David said. "Maybe going back to the ship isn't such a bad idea. We can defend it better than we can the campsite. It might be the best option for keeping Henry safe."

"He's right." Emma agreed. "Just because Henry has changed doesn't mean the Lost Boys will stop coming after him."

"Let them try." Regina said darkly. "No one is getting anywhere near my son. I will destroy anyone who so much as gives it a thought."

"A lioness protecting her cub..." Hook muttered under his breath.

Emma was watching Regina suspiciously, noting the revert to claiming that Henry was hers and hers alone.

"So, I guess we're heading back to the ship after all?" Snow asked.

"That depends," Emma started. "Neal do you still have your map with you?"

"I left it with Tink."

"Okay, can you go get her and meet the rest of us back at the ship?"

"Yeah of course."

"I'll accompany you mate." Hook offered.

"Thanks man."

"The rest of us should stay together and look after Henry." David said. "Not that I don't think you can take care of him yourself Regina." He added in response to the look she was giving him.

"No, you're right." She replied. "I won't object to having more people guarding him. I will _not_ lose him again." She glanced down at the toddler and her eyes warmed at how peaceful he looked. Not to mention how wonderful it felt to have him in her arms again.

"Keep him safe." Neal said to Emma.

"No one will be able to hurt Henry with all of us here to protect him." Emma said. "We'll take good care of him."

"See you all back at the ship?" Hook said, clearly getting impatient to head out.

"Good luck." Snow smiled at the two men before they disappeared into the woods.

"I guess we'd better get going too," David said.

"Hey Regina, if you need someone else to carry him for a while I can." Emma offered.

"Thank you but I'm fine."

"You sure? You've been carrying him for a while now. Your arms must be getting sore."

"I said I'm fine."

"You should save your strength. We never know if or when we're gonna face another attack."

"In the case of that happening I want Henry close to me."

"Regina, we're all here to protect him." David said.

"Even though he's not our Henry he's still special to all of us." Snow added.

"I know that. But... I just want to hold him. I... I've missed him so much."

None of them, not even Regina, was sure of which Henry she was referring to.

"Okay." Emma said. "It's your choice. I guess we should head out then."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Not surprisingly, Neal, Hook and Tink had not yet returned when everyone else reached the Jolly Roger.

"Why don't we wait out here until they get back?" Snow offered.

"You mean you haven't had enough of the great outdoors yet?" Regina scoffed.

"Well, the weather is pretty great, what can it hurt?" Emma said.

"I'm sorry, I thought we were coming back to the ship because it was safer. Now that we're here you've changed your mind?"

"Go aboard if you want, we're not stopping you."

"Emma we should stick together." David reminded her.

"I wanna see the boat!" Henry said from David's shoulders. David had been piggy backing him through the forest once Regina had finally admitted that she needed a break from carrying him.

Regina rubbed Henry's back, "I'm sorry sweetheart but no one else besides us wants to." She looked pointedly at the others.

"Awww..." Henry frowned.

"Fine, whatever, let's go." Emma shook her head a little at Regina. "Sorry Mary Margaret."

"Emma it's fine! It was just a suggestion." Snow grinned.

"Alright, we'd better get the life boat ready so we can head back."

"Or I could just..." Regina began.

"No."

A few minutes later they had taken the little boat out of its hiding place and everyone had piled in. Emma was sitting at the front, David was rowing in the middle and Henry sat snuggly between Snow and Regina at the back.

Henry continued to be in awe of everything he saw.

"Mommy look!" Henry excitedly pointed towards some bright red fish.

"Henry!" Regina grabbed a hold of him before he toppled overboard. "Stay in your seat!"

"But there are so many fishies!"

"I know Henry, but you need to sit down so the boat stays balanced. I don't want you falling in."

"But then I can't see!"

Regina sighed. She patted her leg and then helped her son sit down on her lap, wrapping her arms securely around him. She scooted closer to Snow to even out the weight.

"Better?" She asked.

"Yes thank you." Came Henry's pleased reply.

"What are you guys _doing_ back there?" Emma called from the front.

"Everything's fine now!" Snow answered. "Henry was just looking at some fish."

"Well let's just all stay in the boat okay? If one of us goes in we're probably all going in."

"Do you still think rowing was the best idea?" Regina challenged. "We could be there by now if you would just let me..."

"No!"

"Look Henry," Snow whispered.

Henry gasped as he saw the little blue fish in her hands.

"Just how did you manage to catch that?" Regina asked disapprovingly. "Ughh never mind." She added, knowing her stepdaughter's nature.

"Look at all the scales it has," Snow delicately petted the creature.

"Wow! Can I touch it?" Henry asked.

"No," Regina said quickly. "It's probably full of bacteria."

"But Mary's holding it."

"Well Mary has self control issues when it comes to animals."

"What's self contol?"

"Alright fine, you can pet Nemo. But be gentle. And only one finger."

"His name's Nemo?"

"What? Oh... I suppose it can be." Regina said, forgetting that Henry hadn't seen this particular film yet.

"The blue fish is Dory, not Nemo." Emma was smirking as she peered around David.

"No one asked you."

Emma just shook her head in amusement as Snow allowed Henry to pet the fish once more before releasing it back into the water.

"Apparently we're missing all the fun back there." David said to Emma.

"It appears so."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"This boat is HUGE!" Henry beamed.

As soon as he got on board he immediately began running across the deck with Regina chasing after him.

"Henry be careful!"

"Regina maybe just let him explore, he can't really go anywhere and this is an exciting adventure for a kid." Emma called over the ruckus, just stepping onto the main deck.

"Are you crazy?! This place is an accident waiting to happen! Henry stop!"

"Mommy it's like in Peter Pan!" Henry shouted happily as he barely missed falling through the open hatch that led to below deck.

He stopped abruptly to stare up the sails and Regina just about tackled him.

Henry was giggling at her uncharacteristic behaviour until he saw the expression on her face.

His own face fell. "What?"

"Henry," she said in a shaky voice, holding him firmly in her arms. "What did I tell you before we got on the ship?"

"No running." The three year old said in a small voice.

"Next time listen to me. Do you see that door right there?"

Henry nodded.

"You almost fell through it and if you had you could have been seriously hurt. It's dangerous up here."

Ashamed, Henry looked away. Regina gently placed two fingers under his chin. "Look at me," she said softly. "It's dangerous. This is not a playground. Do you understand me?"

"Yes mommy."

Regina pulled him into a hug and she felt his arms go around her back.

"Regina are you alright?" Snow frowned, noticing how pale the other woman's face had become.

Regina looked up at the other three adults, still holding Henry close.

"You said Peter Pan," she whispered to Henry.

He pulled back from her and nodded vigorously. "This ship, it's like the one in Peter Pan."

"How do you know that story?"

"We watched it in preschool."

Regina exhaled deeply. "You see what filth your school lets my son watch?" She snarled at Snow.

"It's not my fault! I didn't show it to him. And Regina it _is_ just a harmless children's movie."

"Harmless!" Regina began to stand, picking Henry up along with her. "It's nothing but lies! It's probably one of the reasons he trusted the brat in the first place!"

"Look," Emma said steadily. "I know everyone is a little on edge right now but Regina you need to calm down. Nothing happened. Henry's fine."

Regina's eyes softened as she looked back down at the little boy. "I know."

She was surprised when she felt the blonde's hand on her arm.

"Come on, let's show him around the ship."

* * *

**_Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! _**


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